Browns’ free agent center Alex Mack was on just about every team’s shopping list this offseason until Cleveland slapped a transition tag on him priced at $10 million for 2014.

The window for big ticket signings this spring is closing rapidly. Many teams are running out of cap space and the only ones left with expendable cash are the league’s perennial losers. Unless Mack and his agents don’t care about winning, there is still a chance a team will surface with an offer for Mack.

The Browns just happen to be one of those teams with the cash to match any legit offer. It’s becoming an untenable situation for Mack, who may be forced to sign his transition offer or risk being underpaid on the open market.

From Mike Florio of PFT:

Mack’s best play would be to sign the transition tender before the Browns realize that they’re offering to pay $10 million for one year to a center and rescind the offer. If no offer is going to come from another team, Mack needs to realize that, if the tender is yanked in April, May, or June, the money on the open market won’t be anywhere close to $10 million per year.

The Giants are still looking for a starting center. Mack was high on their list, but they do not have the cap space to match the Browns in a bidding war. Should Cleveland pull that offer off the table, the Giants – if they are still looking – could jump back into the fray.

For those asking why the Giants aren’t pursuing the Saints’ Brian De La Puente…. DLP’s name has not blipped across any team’s radar since free agency began a week ago. The Giants were the last team mentioned as possible suitors, but the short answer here is that nothing is happening.

So, why is it that no team, not even the Saints, have not made an overture for him? That’s mystifying. He has started 44 of the Saints ‘ last 48 games. As we know, New Orleans is one of the league’s best offensive teams.